Knee Surgery - Mission Accomplished

We are now home from the hospital, and Mark's early morning knee surgery is a done deal. The surgeon told me afterward that he didn't have to do as extensive a procedure as he had anticipated, which was such good news to hear. He said that Mark will be on crutches for only a few days this time, gradually putting weight on the affected leg as he is comfortable doing so. This is in stark contrast to three years ago, when the same surgeon had to do a much more complicated procedure on Mark's other knee, and Mark had to be on crutches for eight weeks. We thank God for this result, and thank you so much for your prayers.

You know you're getting older when...

Well, Mark went to visit his knee surgeon this morning - same guy who operated on his right knee three years ago - and they decided that the surgeon would perform the same procedure on Mark's left knee next Thursday, April 30th. Mark has a torn meniscus and osteo-arthritis in that knee, same as the other knee. Last time he had to spend eight weeks on crutches following the surgery, and this time will be no different. So... we're gearing up for the big day! Life is just so much fun!

So, I guess you know you're getting older when the body parts start to wear out. And here are a few more indications...

You know you're getting older when...

...you remember when the Dead Sea was only sick.

...it takes two tries to get up from the couch.

...your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

...someone compliments you on your layered look.... and you're wearing a bikini.

...your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper.

...your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes... and you're barefoot.

...going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of your face.

...your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.

...you find yourself beginning to like accordion music.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Today our favorite middle son, a.k.a. favorite middle child, turns 27. Wow. How did my babies get to be so grown up? Here are a few school pictures of Ben through the years. We love you so much, Ben! Have a great day today.

Happy Birthday, Beka!

Our dear daughter-in-law Beka turns 29 today. Happy, happy Birthday to you, Beka! We are so thankful for you. You are always so kind and caring, and are unfailingly thoughtful. Plus, you love Jake! We hope you enjoy a truly lovely day today. And you and Jake certainly have an exciting year ahead of you - we are SO excited for all this year will bring. We love you very much!

Simple. Beautiful.

On Easter Sunday, we joined Sarah and Chris at their church in Vancouver. And my heart was filled to overflowing as I soaked up the simple message of the Gospel. The pastor shared from I Corinthians 15:1-4, where the Apostle Paul writes:

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

So simple. So beautiful. So life-changing. Thank you, Jesus, for what you did on the cross for me. Thank you for the new life I have in you. Thank you for reminding me on Sunday what is of first importance. I love you.

He Arose

Low in the grave He lay,

Jesus my Savior,

Waiting the coming day,

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose;

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed,

Jesus my Savior,

Vainly they seal the dead,

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose;

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Death cannot keep its prey,

Jesus my Savior;

He tore the bars away,

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose;

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

“Oh that my words were recorded,

that they were written on a scroll,

that they were inscribed with an iron

tool on lead,

or engraved in rock forever!

I KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVES,

and that in the end

He will stand upon the earth...”

Job 19:23-25

it's Saturday...

Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my Lord...

...to be continued

A New Toy

For years now, Mark has wanted a new riding lawn mower. He used to use his dad's old tractor mower, but that one has long since died. So, after months of careful, methodical research, he settled on a Husqvarna, and it was delivered this afternoon. And of course, it needed to be initiated on our lawn right away. Here it is, in all its glory.
I watched him for a while out the window, and more than once I caught him with a smile on his face. Mark has a bad knee (two, actually, but one has already been operated on), and this little mower will really help save his knee some wear and tear.
Oops! There he goes, around the corner! Have fun, honey! I love you. Enjoy your Husky!!!

Out yonder in the back forty...

Over the course of the past two months or so, we have been doing some work in our back yard. Our home is situated on a lot which is nearly a half-acre in size, but prior to now, about half of our back yard was pretty much unusable, as it was overtaken by brush, blackberry bushes, and assorted piles of debris. We hired a guy to do much of the brush-clearing, and Mark also worked alongside him to do a lot of the work himself. And, slowly but surely, it's taking shape. I don't have any "before" pictures, but for those of you who have been in our back yard, you'll definitely notice a difference in these "after" shots.
Above is a view from Hannah's upstairs bedroom window, looking at the center portion of the back property line. You can see the platform for the tree house. We tried to leave many of the trees, only taking out the rotted and/or junky-looking ones. From the dark line on the grass and beyond that line is where the new grass is growing in the newly-cleared portion -- click on the pics to see more detail. And we love that we can now see beyond our property line to the field beyond. Makes us really feel like we live in the country. Yee Haw!!!
Here is a view of the right-hand side of the yard. Again, the new part of the yard is where the dark line in the grass is, and on beyond that point. The dark spots in the "old" lawn are where we have put additional soil to help level off low spots in the lawn. New grass should be sprouting there soon.
We wanted to fill in some areas along the creek with more evergreen plants. Here are some trees, and a daphne plant, whose blossoms are heavenly fragrant.
This picture was taken from the front yard, where you can see the corner of the porch that is closest to the creek. We planted some arborvitae plants there, which will eventually provide a privacy screen from our neighbors across the creek.
Our dear dog Molly's grave marker was left in place just as it was.
Looking across the creek - you'll see a few more plants we've put in place - our Christmas tree, which we bought live for replanting, and a rhododendron.
Yet another view along the creek. You can see several more new rhodies planted.
A ground-level view of the far-right-corner of the back yard.
The tree fort - as yet unfinished. Some day it could be a fun place for grandchildren to play!
Mark planted two filbert (hazelnut) trees in the back yard, too. It might take a few years before we have nuts on them, but it will be a happy day when we have a harvest!
He planted two camellia bushes, one on either side of his tool shed.
An apple tree on the left side of the yard. Supposedly, this one tree will bear three different types of apples!
More arborvitae along the left property line, again to provide more privacy.
And out front, we put an arbor, with a clematis plant growing up each side. The flowers on the clematis are very lovely and fragrant, which will be nice this summer. So - that's it from the Dorr compound for today!